ors?
The Somerset Association of Local Councils Ltd (SALC) is seeking expressions of interest from councillors serving on councils in membership of the association.
If you are keen to help shape SALC’s service and forge partnerships across Somerset, we are keen to hear from you.
Six director vacancies will be up for election at the next AGM, as follows:
Area | Term of directorship |
North (Sedgemoor) | 1 year term |
North (Sedgemoor) | 3-year term |
South (South Somerset) | 2-year term |
South (South Somerset) | 3-year term |
East (Mendip) | 3-year term |
West (Somerset West & Taunton) | 3-year term |
Elections to the board of directors will take place at the annual general meeting, which is anticipated to be hosted alongside the Somerset parish conference in October this year.
A briefing session will take place ahead of the AGM, where you can find out more about what it means to become a SALC company director, including the role description and time commitments.
To place an expression of interest and receive updates about the briefing session, please email the company secretary at sam@somerset-alc.org.uk
We are pleased to welcome Fodo Higginson to her new role as Community Health & Wellbeing Officer.
Fodo was recently promoted from her role as SALC’s Community Health and Wellbeing Support Officer to the lead role assisting local councils as they undertake projects for the benefit of health and wellbeing in their communities.
As a local councillor on Wiveliscombe Town Council, Fodo has a sound understanding of the parish sector. She has a wealth of experience working with councils and partner organisations, and was instrumental in establishing the Moorvale Creative Community Interest Company, which delivers creative wellbeing projects to communities across somerset.
Alongside Fodo’s council and community work, she is a musician, songwriter, and teacher of music who recognises the ongoing need to for funding in rural communities to encourage creative solutions to wellbeing, equality in communities, and social inclusion.
If your council would like guidance, access to funding, or training to support community health and wellbeing, Fodo will be pleased to hear from you at HWB@somerset-alc.org.uk. Fodo works Mondays to Thursdays (inclusive).
Following Fodo’s promotion, SALC is seeking a Community Health and Wellbeing Support Officer to work alongside Fodo to assist in the delivery this pioneering health and wellbeing programme of support to town and parish councils in Somerset.
If you are a talented administrator with a genuine interest in community health and wellbeing, we want to hear from you. You can read about the job and download the documents from the vacancy page of the SALC website.
The SALC office has been contacted by parish and town councils requesting the invoice for the 2024/25 SALC/NALC affiliation fees.
We are sorry for the delay in getting invoices out to you. In order to calculate the amounts due, we need to receive the electorate numbers from Somerset Council, which has been busy with the general election. We hope that now the election is over, Somerset’s election teams will be able to provide the data to us so that we can get invoices to you ASAP.
Thank you for your patience.
If your council is not a member of SALC and would like to join us, please complete the form on the SALC website, here.
Parish and town councils are stronger together, and through membership of SALC & NALC we can be assured of a confident sector voice heard throughout local and central government.
Following the recent general election, Somerset’s five parliamentary constituencies saw some changes in representation. The constituency MPs are now as follows:
| Gideon Amos | Liberal Democrat | Taunton and Wellington |
| Adam Dance | Liberal Democrat | Yeovil |
| Sarah Dyke | Liberal Democrat | Glastonbury and Somerton |
| Ashley Fox | Conservative | Bridgwater |
| Rachel Gilmour | Liberal Democrat | Tiverton and Minehead |
| Tessa Munt | Liberal Democrat | Wells and Mendip Hills |
| Anna Sabine | Liberal Democrat | Frome and East Somerset |
We would like to encourage parish and town councils to make contact with their MP to welcome them and pave the way for an open and productive relationship. To find the details for your MP, you can use the UK Parliament MPs and Lords directory.
Each MP makes themselves available at constituency advice surgeries to meet with constituents, and councils can also extend invitations to their MP to attend a public council meeting.
Labour MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, Jim McMahon, has been appointed Local Government Minister in the renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. On his recent X (formally known as Twitter) post Jim McMahon stated that he was “honoured to work alongside our mayors, councillors and officials who live and breathe public service”.
At its 2023 party conference the Labour party promised to hand more power to ‘cities and counties, towns and districts, parishes and neighbourhoods’, a move strongly welcomed by NALC.
SALC is pleased to support the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Star Council Awards to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the parish and town councils sector.
The Star Council Awards are the only awards programme in England specifically designed to acknowledge the impact and contribution of local councils in their communities. The awards are open to all local councils, councillors, young councillors, clerks, and county associations across England.
The nomination period ends on 6 September 2024, and the winners will be announced and given their awards at a ceremony in the House of Lords.
Click here for more information on the Star Council Awards 2024 and how to submit a nomination.
We have reported in previous newsletter items the reasons why local councils are encouraged to move their online presence to a .gov.uk domain. For instance, the Practitioners’ Guide 2024 now talks about .gov.uk domains being a sign of good, professional practice, and the Cabinet Office has secured funding in this financial year only for 1000 councils to receive a discount of £100 +VAT to offset the initial costs of a .gov.uk domain. To date, more than 283 councils have already made use of this offer.
The government’s Central Digital & Data Office set up the new Parish Council Domains Helper Service to equip councils in England with the knowledge to make the transition to .gov.uk easier.
Help with dispelling myths and misconceptions
The Domain Helper Service wants to make sure that councils are making decisions based on accurate information, so it has put together a few articles that are aimed at some of the most common misconceptions:
● Understanding your council’s responsibility towards an accessible website
● There’s never been a better time to move to a .gov.uk domain
● Is a .gov.uk domain mandatory?
● Why the question ‘how much does a .gov.uk domain cost’ is not easy to answer!
Don’t forget that SALC has secured a deal with Parish Online to bring SALC member councils a 30% discount on new .gov.uk websites.
The Parkinson Partnership has published a briefing note to address concerns that parish councils are no longer covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), despite the FSCS standard conditions having not changed.
For details, see the briefing in the Finance & Audit section on the LTNs & Guidance page of the SALC website (login required)
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